| G A M E I N D U S T R Y Business Planning Part 2 by Mona Ibrahim, posted 5/12/08 So you've learned how to set up your business but what about financing? Product Insurance? Working this all into an actual company? Get it all laid out along with a guide to setting up your LLC | R E V I E W Express Animator by John Hattan, posted 5/8/08 We review a 2D drawing and animation program with some import and export formats useful to web game programming. | ||
| C O N F E R E N C E C O V E R A G E New York Comic Con 08 by Drew Sikora, Oluseyi Sonaiya, posted 5/7/08 Coverage of the game tracks at NYCC, including getting into the industry, writing for games, game journalism, and more | G A M E I N D U S T R Y Business Planning Part 1 by Mona Ibrahim, posted 5/6/08 Learn all you need to know about the basics of setting up a business entity to self-publish your games or start your own studio, from the people on your business team to the type of business entity you need to create to best suit your needs. |
| Tuesday, May 13, 2008 | |
| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 8:18:04 AM | |
VideoGamer.com ran a particularly detailed interview with Cameron Suey, producer of the Xbox 360 and PS3 version so of Lucasarts' upcoming game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Interviews with developers before a game's release date aren't typically anything but bad jokes interspersed with PR speech snippets but, in this particular interview, Cameron answers the oft-asked question about why The Force Unleashed is coming to every imaginable platform except the PC. His answer is long and contains a lot of words, but the gist of it is that the development team felt that, for this game, development for platforms with consistent hardware specs was a necessity: "with the known quantity for the consoles, and every console is the same with the same processing power, it made sense for us to develop for those consoles." The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Rockstar co-founder and President Sam Houser which the writer titled: "Studio Is Prize in Takeover Duel." I envisioned the money fight between Electronic Arts and Take-Two as more of a means for EA to corner parts of the sports game market by shutting down 2k Sports the moment they get their ownership hands over Take-Two's pulsating heart and then EA looks upon the heart in their hands and they can extract the Rockstar diamond within. Either way, the WSJ article also points out that Rockstar hired a "spiritual healer" to "exorcise" potential demons after the death of two employees. Houser also pointed out that he has no problem becoming "much smaller fish in much bigger pond" if the EA acquisition ever takes place. It was a slow news day. Read More.. | 0 Comments | |
| Monday, May 12, 2008 | |
| Interview with Surround Sound Specialist Rik Ede (GAMESOUND Ltd) | |
| Posted by: Music4Games.Net at 4:46:03 PM | |
Source Read More.. | 0 Comments | |
| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 4:21:32 PM | |
United States representative Lee Terry (Republican from Nebraska) and Jim Matheson (Democrat from Utah) are proposing a bill which would require retailers to check for identification when buying a game "intended for adults." The proposal, titled the Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act, would enforce a $5,000 civil penalty upon any retailer who does not check whether a customer is above the age gate for an M-rated (17+) or Ao-rated (18+) game. As the Variety piece points outs, "several state legislatures have enacted similar laws, but each has been struck down by courts on First Amendment challenges." This bill, as Terry points out, does not actually make any claims or restrictions as to the content of games, just that the ratings scale should be enforced. Several game stores already do do this so, from my mind, having it be a requirement isn't a terrible idea and may actually help to limit unnecessary litigation against violent games in the future. And, in other news, Sony is competing for world domination. I mean, they're actually competing "beyond" Microsoft and Nintendo within the scope of the entertainment industry. Kaz Harai, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, says that he thinks the "PS3, PS2 and PSP are all entertainment platforms so I feel that our competition is not Microsoft or Nintendo, but basically any form of entertainment that is competing for the consumers' attention." As absurd as I thought the quote was on Friday, now I think it makes sense. Sony always intended for the Playstation 3 to be an all-in-one entertainment system (rather than Nintendo's firm stance that the Wii is solely a gaming system) and, from what I understand, the PS3 is one of the best Blu-Ray players on the market. So we're back to Sony taking over the world. Read More.. | 0 Comments | |
| Friday, May 9, 2008 | |
| Weekend Reading: Tales from Journal Land | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 6:15:51 PM | |
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| New networking community premieres at Nordic Game 2008 | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 2:22:11 PM | |
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| Games Convention Asia Conference Opens Call for Papers | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 2:18:52 PM | |
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| Final Day to Register Online for the 2008 ION Game Conference | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 2:13:14 PM | |
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| fmx/08 in Stuttgart, Germany - In Review | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 2:09:03 PM | |
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| Vancouver International Game Summit features Call of Duty 4, May 21- 22 | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 2:02:23 PM | |
The Vancouver International Game Summit and its Advisory Board are pleased to announce that this year's closing keynote event will feature the key leaders behind the 2007 Game of the Year: Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™. Read More.. | 0 Comments | |
| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 7:42:21 AM | |
I was told by a GameDev.net staff member that it's no longer acceptable to talk about Grand Theft Auto 4. So now I'll talk about how a rumor about how David Jones, the creator of Grand Theft Auto, may have bought the rights for APB (All Points Bulletin) so that he could propose it to Rockstar as the GTA MMO. I don't usually report on rumors but, as a gamer typically uninterested in the massively multiplayer "arena," I must say: do want. Over at Gamasutra there's an interesting article about the Playstation Network and Downloadable Games. The opinion/editorial piece is by no means an official work, but it's something I've noticed on my system whenever I browse the list of downloadable games. Unlike Xbox Live, which has its share of non-indie titles too, the Playstation Network's best games are all produced by Sony's Santa Monica studio and, for the most part, pass through an official Sony production pipeline despite the development being done by indie studios. Update: Apparently Electronic Arts has responded to the SecuRom outcry over the every-ten-days activation requirement. Kudos to EA. May want? Read More.. | 5 Comments | |
| Thursday, May 8, 2008 | |
| UCSD scientists create more efficient photon mapping algorithm | |
| Posted by: The American Narrowcast Networ at 11:44:25 PM | |
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| UCSD scientists create more efficient photon mapping algorithm | |
| Posted by: The American Narrowcast Networ at 11:44:16 PM | |
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| Interview with David Lakritz: The Language of Localizing Online Games | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 1:40:17 PM | |
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| GameInstitute Continues Development Challenges | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 11:23:17 AM | |
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| TalentRaspel publishes Open Source system for development of MMORPG systems | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 11:00:20 AM | |
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| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 7:22:36 AM | |
Sure, this particular story can be found a handful of entries below the one you're reading right now, but the XNA 3.0 community technical preview release is something I feel the need to re-link. I maintain my view that everything Microsoft is doing with XNA is absolutely spectacular and deserving of praise. This technical preview offers support for the Zune (though 360 support is missing for this particular release), Visual Studio 2008, and various framework changes. If anyone is looking for a new sort of development platform for their next project, I'd say that XNA is well worth a look. Coming to the realization that every gamer and developer has known for years, nVidia plans to simplify its product range. Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Business Development, says "We think that the people who understand and know GeForce today, they're okay with it--they understand it. But if we're going to widen our appeal, there's no doubt that we have to solve that problem." I'm pretty "up" on my nVidia cards and keeping straight the fact that the 8800GTX outperforms the 512MB 8800GTS which outperforms the 640MB 8800GTS which are all superior the new 9600GT is by no means an easy or straightforward endeavor. At least they acknowledge that it needs to change. Kind of. Poor THQ employees. Read More.. | 2 Comments | |
| Wednesday, May 7, 2008 | |
| Notes on Game Dev Game Art Competition | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 7:14:00 PM | |
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| XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP is now available through the XNA Creators Club Online site | |
| Posted by: Paul Evans at 9:46:49 AM | |
This preview (CTP) release of XNA Game Studio 3.0 is now available through the XNA Creators Club Online site (http://creators.xna.com), with a final release scheduled for Christmas 2008. More after the jump. Read More.. | 7 Comments | |
| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 8:25:22 AM | |
I know that I love Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and am eagerly awaiting when I get to buy the full game for a price that's a mere twenty dollars more ($60) than what I paid for the Prologue quasi-game ($40). Anyway, despite the lack of concrete details, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Nissan have announced the Gran Turismo Racing Academy. In what is bound to be an exercise in comedy, the GT Racing Academy will "give gamers a chance to show if they can drive in real life like they do in Gran Turismo." I'm pretty good at Gran Turismo but, let me tell you, I'm glad when I make it through a day where I don't feel minutes from an imminent crash that will set my status as dead. Luckily, as Kotaku reports, "every step of the academy will be filmed and later made available on the Playstation Network." There's no way this event won't be a gold mine of epic YouTube clips. Despite last week being a Grand Theft Auto 4 frenzy within the game industry, the lack of Take-Two announcements regarding the US games sales is absolutely mystifying. Yesterday, reports came from both Gamasutra and GamesIndustry.biz about the game's enormous sales numbers in the UK (926,000 copies in five days across the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3). GTA4 also topped off the Xbox 360 LIVE charts. Given all of this, it would seem to indicate that the game sold fairly well... So why no announcement from Take-Two about the game's sales numbers? Popular opinion is centered around the idea that, if the game didn't far exceed expectations, that the Take-Two shareholders may get angry about Take-Two's rejection of the buyout offer from Electronic Arts and that, while Grand Theft Auto 4 without a doubt sold well, it may not have been the single biggest game release that Take-Two needed. Update: Nevermind. Apparently Grand Theft Auto 4 did pretty well. Read More.. | 8 Comments | |
| Visualization Library alpha 1 released! | |
| Posted by: Michele Bosi at 1:54:01 AM | |
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| Agenda Online for Bleeding-edge .NET Conference | |
| Posted by: Shaguf at 12:52:54 AM | |
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| Tuesday, May 6, 2008 | |
| UNT to offer certificate in computer game programming | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 5:36:39 PM | |
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| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 7:47:45 AM | |
In terms of other really big numbers comes a report from THQ that it has sold over fifty million Nickelodeon titles worldwide for a grand total value of one billion dollars. While I never really thought of THQ as a "family entertainment" publisher/distribute, Director of Global Product Management Jim Huntley firmly disagrees with me in a conversation we never had: "With the enormous popularity of Wii and DS coupled with our exceptionally diverse portfolio of Nickelodeon-based games, THQ continues to lead in family entertainment." That's cool. Anything that allows THQ to do well also allows its Real-Time Strategy games (Supreme Commander, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and Company of Heroes) to thrive and flourish with their respective developers. And RTSs make the world a better place as indicated in a scientific study performed on me, by me, at 12:42am this morning. Epic reported that there were an astonishing forty million illegitimate attempts to access Unreal Tournament 3 servers. I mean. Everyone thought they gave that figure, anyway. Apparently they didn't. This is the news equivilent of 40000000*0. Which is to say this isn't news at all. Since we're on the topic of piracy, I might as well point to the most logical, fool-proof means of piracy prevention ever invented by man which can be found in the PC port of Mass Effect (and Spore): super SecuRom (fourth post, written by Derek French, Bioware's Technical Producer). The explanation of the copy protection is this: "After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned). Just so that the 10 day thing doesn't become abrupt, SecuROM tries its first re-check with 5 days remaining in the 10 day window. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, nothing bad happens and the game still runs. After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run." So, while the game doesn't require the DVD to run (unless you don't have an Internet connection) it will still check with a server every ten days to ensure your key is still valid. And this is on top of the fact that users are allowed only three activations of the game. Read More.. | 13 Comments | |
| ICO star joins a roster of over 100 speakers at Nordic Game 2008 | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 1:39:06 AM | |
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| Monday, May 5, 2008 | |
| Interview with Nicole Lazzaro: Social Forces Impact Online Gaming | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 12:03:10 PM | |
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| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 8:00:38 AM | |
The most surprising story of the weekend goes to one which states that Chinese gamers spent $1.7 billion (USD) on online games last year. This is not news due to a high monetary value -- because, given China's population, that's nothing remarkable -- but its news due to the massive amounts of game piracy that China is typically representative of. Niko Partners, the marketing intelligence firm responsible for the numbers, predicts that this number will hit $2.5 billion this year and then jump to $6 billion in 2012. And, despite their sale being banned in the country, "the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS3 reached 2.48 million units" in 2007 in what has to be the nerdiest black market in existence. Street Fighter 2 creator Yoshiki Okamoto says the Nintendo DS market is going to crash much like the North American video game crash of 1983 -- the game-focused version of the great depression. "You've started hearing the phrase 'Atari crash' pretty frequently," Okamoto says (and, no, I haven't heard it frequently at all). He attributes the likeliness of the crash due to the huge popularity of Nintendo's portable system along with the absolutely mind-boggling number of games which are available for it. It's worth noting that, in the instance of the Atari market crash, the games industry was but a fraction of the size it is now. And I don't want to say that things have changed in twenty-five years, but... Happy Birthday, Wolfenstein 3D. Read More.. | 9 Comments | |
| Saturday, May 3, 2008 | |
| Mockingbird - The Game Making Game | |
| Posted by: Troy at 10:55:31 AM | |
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| Friday, May 2, 2008 | |
| Weekend Reading: Tales from Journal Land | |
| Posted by: Drew Sikora at 3:04:00 PM | |
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| April Independent Games | |
| Posted by: Russ Carroll at 9:11:51 AM | |
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| The Daily GameDev.net | |
| Posted by: Trent Polack at 8:13:06 AM | |
In actual news, Valve released the Steamworks SDK which can be found, along with information regarding its utilization, at Valve's Steamworks site. The SDK touts the ability to utilize the same matchmaking, persistent stats (Team Fortress 2), integration into the Steam Community, voice chat, publishing services, cheat detection, a host of publishing services and more. To utilize the service, just sign up. In a post-news-posting story, Activision and parent company Vivendi have ended their membership with the Entertainment Software Association. This news follow a day after the announcement that the companies would not be attending E3 this year. This seems like a fairly odd event; not attending E3 is one thing, but ending their membership with a fairly large association of game developers and publishers? Read More.. | 9 Comments | |